Music entertainment in USA
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A
Ivy Room
The Ivy Room boasts live country, blues and rockabilly bands and an excellent jukebox of classic 45s.
reviewed
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B
Metropolitan Opera House
New York’s premier opera company, the Metropolitan Opera offers a spectacular mixture of classics and premieres. This is the place to see favorites such as Carmen, Madam Butterfly, Macbeth and Otello, as well as new works like Hansel and Gretel and Les Contes d’Hoffmann, unveiled in 2009. The season runs from September to April. Though ticket prices start at $70 and can get close to $300, the standing-room tickets ($15 to $20) are one of NYC’s best bargains. They go on sale at 10am Saturday for the following week’s performances. True, your feet will hurt and you won’t see much, but you’ll hear everything. You can also stand in line to try and score a prized rush ticke…
reviewed
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C
Boston Pops
Also playing out of the auditorily and visually delightful Symphony Hall, the Boston Pops arranges crowd-pleasers for the orchestra to tackle. Usually this means seasonal fare such as Christmas carols, movie scores and thematic mischief. In recent years, real live pop stars have fronted the Pops, included Amy Mann, Natalie Merchant and Elvis Costello. The business is conducted by the dashing Keith Lockhart, making Boston hearts swoon since 1995. The Boston Pops plays popular classical music and show tunes from May to July and offers a popular holiday show in December. Tickets are booked out far in advance, especially for shows during the winter holidays.
reviewed
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D
1015 Folsom
One of the city’s biggest clubs, ‘Ten-Fifteen’ has been eclipsed by Temple and Ruby Skye, but still draws huge crowds, primarily Asian. Its main hall is enormous, and four other dance floors mean you’ll lose your posse if you’re not paying attention. If you’re a sound purist, 1015’s basement has one of the best systems in the city. Be prepared for a pat-down before you enter; there’s a serious no-drugs (or weapons) policy after some problems with the SFPD.
reviewed
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E
26Mix
It looks like an ordinary dive, but Latin-owned 26Mix is clearly all about DJs and dancing. A little ways beyond the central Mission District, 26Mix showcases the talents of local DJs every night of the week, with karaoke on Wednesdays. The sound system pops and the crowd is pretty low key. The club tends to get cranking later in the evening, and when it's packed it gets downright steamy. Early weeknights can be slow, and drinks are pricey.
reviewed
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F
Big Easy
This club splices together iconic emblems from the great southern city in a superficial pastiche that has caused it to be ridiculously successful. It's hard to tell whether the place is mocking New Orleans, but come inside anyway to experience knock-off wrought iron balconies that overlook the dance floor, huge open spaces and oversized cocktails (hurricanes, of course). The music is usually pop DJs, with the occasional lame cover band.
reviewed
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G
Five
One of the city's hottest clubs, Five keeps its patrons happy by (1) letting them inside (you won't find super-snotty bouncers here) and (2) offering a smorgasbord of house, reggae and hip-hop with occassional drum & bass spun by well-known local and international DJs. Spanning three floors, Five has a popular Caribbean-inspired rooftop deck. The bars are where to flirt. Coupons (check the local papers) grant free entry until 00:00.
reviewed
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H
DC Sanctuary
Check your attitude at the door. DC Sanctuary welcomes everyone - black and white, straight and gay - so long as they have an appreciation for soul-soothing house and garage, blue lights, disco balls and a mellow vibe; this is not a pick-up joint. Couches, paintings and a big dance floor fill the minimalist-looking space. The club is in a transitional neighborhood, far from any Metro stop, so you'll need to drive or take a cab.
reviewed
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I
Play Lounge
How can you resist a place with the motto 'no rules and everyone has a good time?' Especially when said place has a stripper pole that draws lines of girls waiting to show off their moves? The scene at this one-room club is reminiscent of a kick-ass college party - no space and tons of sweaty, thriving bodies. If you're in the right mood (and can get past the burly bouncer), it can be a great place to let loose.
reviewed
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J
Axis
The black, white, grey and red color palette and painting scheme feels very dated (think 1994), but they've got stripper poles and sometimes hire professional dancers (clothed ones) to use them. Thanks to the smoking ban, the lack of cigarette odor reveals that the place smells like feet, even when empty. There's a large floor and complicated light arrangements to make you feel glamorous.
reviewed
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K
111 Minna
Window-lined gallery by day, rockin’ lounge space and bar by night, 111 Minna hosts a wild array of events, from monthly free Sketch Tuesdays, when artists make work for sale to the audience, to SF’s best techno-dance party Qoöl, to live acoustic performances and disco-house nights. Best of all, you can look in the windows and see if it’s your scene. Check the calendar.
reviewed
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L
Voda
Blue lights are always cool, and vodka is a drink from cooler climes: that's pretty much what Voda's about. This place boasts several dozen vodka imports on its impressive-looking shelves, and the coolest after-work crowd shows up to, well, cool off and look cool. Drink prices are surprisingly reasonable. DJs spin jazz, French-touch electro and hip-hop starting in the early evening.
reviewed
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M
Hyde Park Café
This downtown late-night indoor-outdoor café, pizza place (pizzas $9 to $15), and VIP club gets really packed on Tuesday nights with eclectic music. Patrons drop by on other nights to check out the DJ spinning tunes. Happy hour (with no cover) dominates from 8pm to 10pm, while silicone implants and South Beach slick attire pick up the slack after 10pm.
reviewed
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N
Green Room
Inside a former fire station right in the heart of downtown, Green Room comes with a big performance space where you can chill with free cult movies or a band most nights. Entry is usually no more than a couple of bucks and if you dig hip hop and indie grooves a little more than the casino has-been scene, then this is the Reno venue for you.
reviewed
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O
Platinum
Beautiful people all dressed up dance to the usual mélange of world and electronic music at this well-established hotspot housed in a grand former bank. Theme nights include College and Latin; check the website as the schedule changes. Sign up in advance to get on the guest list, in which case there's no cover charge before 23:00.
reviewed
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P
Cellar
Atmospheric, sexy and moody, this dark, basement-level lounge is removed from the Polk Gulch scene by a couple of walkable blocks. Friday happy hour (17:00 to 21:00) jumpstarts the weekend; DJs start spinning at 22:00. You can rotate between two dance floors, or snag a secluded alcove to make a move on the cutie you're scoping out.
reviewed
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Q
Cat Club
Slim Jim Phantom, drummer for the 1980s rockabilly band Stray Cats, owns this teensy rock den with its cozy sofa loft and smoking patio. If you can, come on Thursday when the charmingly named Starfuckers (Slim Jim, ex–Guns N' Roses Dizzy Reed and a changing roster of their aging rockstar friends) get jamming around midnight.
reviewed
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R
Double Wide
Are these rednecks pretending to be hipsters or hipsters pretending to be rednecks? In any case, everyone and their mom seems to be coming to Deep Ellum to drink PBRs on toilet seats and gaze at naked-lady paintings while they revel in being ‘trailer trash,’ if only for an hour. Live music keeps the irony from killing the fun.
reviewed
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S
Starlight Room
Views are mesmerizing from the 21st floor of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, where khaki-clad tourists and bimbo blondes let down their hair and dance to live bands on weekends and DJs on weekdays. Safe space for tipsy dorks and conservative parents – except on Sundays, when there’s a kooky drag-show brunch (make reservations).
reviewed
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T
Las Vegas Philharmonic
For over a decade, this 70-piece orchestra has been playing sold-out shows at the Artemus W Ham Concert Hall of the UNLV Performing Arts Center, as well as at the grand openings of casino resorts, silent-movie screenings at the CineVegas film fest, and concerts by touring opera stars and virtuoso musicians.
reviewed
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U
Subtonic Lounge
Hidden in the basement of the more famous Tonic lounge, the Subtonic is a hedonistic rave-like dance party that proudly features the best German techno coming out of Berlin - and sometimes the best guest DJs, too. Friday night's 'Bunker Party' raises the roof as spinmeisters whip the packed dance floor into a frenzy.
reviewed
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V
Irish Times
Set in a 19th-century three-story building, this place emulates a Dublin pub, with dark paneling, high ceilings and the scent of Caffrey’s. On weekends the upstairs is a disco where the DJ spins out techno and dance tunes. The dinner patrons are largely urban professionals who come for the fish and chips.
reviewed
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W
West Street Grille
On weekends, the after work crowd at this smallish bar gives way to dancing set to pop music and hip-hop. The place can get pretty packed and serves as a pick-up place for college graduates disenfranchised with the large clubs in the area. It's a good spot to make out with someone you never want to see again.
reviewed
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X
Mezzanine
With possibly the best sound system in SF, behemoth Mezzanine hosts electro-funk disco, house, hip-hop, classic alt bands like the Psychedelic Furs and electronic shows by the likes of Wyclef Jean, to keep you dancing all night inside its awesome brick-walled former-industrial space. Check the calendar.
reviewed
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Y
Knitting Factory
This bastion of indie bands isn't as out there as its New York City mother club, but it welcomes patrons of all ages and offers up top-notch world music, progressive jazz and other alternative sounds. Headliners take the main stage, the rest make do with the intimate (and often free) AlterKnit Lounge.
reviewed
